Epigenetics of Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Multi-level Analysis Combining Epi-signature, Age Acceleration, Epigenetic Drift and Rare Epivariations Using Public Datasets.
Curr Neuropharmacol 2023;
21:2362-2373. [PMID:
37489793 PMCID:
PMC10556384 DOI:
10.2174/1570159x21666230725142338]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/17/2022] [Indexed: 07/26/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Epigenetics of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is still an understudied field. The majority of the studies on the topic used an approach based on mere classification of cases and controls.
OBJECTIVE
The present study aimed at providing a multi-level approach in which different types of epigenetic analysis (epigenetic drift, age acceleration) are combined.
METHODS
We used publicly available datasets from blood (n = 3) and brain tissues (n = 3), separately. Firstly, we evaluated for each dataset and meta-analyzed the differential methylation profile between cases and controls. Secondly, we analyzed age acceleration, epigenetic drift and rare epigenetic variations.
RESULTS
We observed a significant epi-signature of ASD in blood but not in brain specimens. We did not observe significant age acceleration in ASD, while epigenetic drift was significantly higher compared to controls. We reported the presence of significant rare epigenetic variations in 41 genes, 35 of which were never associated with ASD. Almost all genes were involved in pathways linked to ASD etiopathogenesis (i.e., neuronal development, mitochondrial metabolism, lipid biosynthesis and antigen presentation).
CONCLUSION
Our data support the hypothesis of the use of blood epi-signature as a potential tool for diagnosis and prognosis of ASD. The presence of an enhanced epigenetic drift, especially in brain, which is linked to cellular replication, may suggest that alteration in epigenetics may occur at a very early developmental stage (i.e., fetal) when neuronal replication is still high.
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